NJ fire captain impersonated cop, made two traffic stops, authorities say

Authorities say a 47-year-old Newark fire captain is facing charges for allegedly impersonating a law enforcement officer and attempting to make motor vehicle stops on two separate occasions.

Anthony Graves of Newark was charged with two counts of fourth-degree impersonation of a law enforcement officer in connection with the November 2014 incidents, acting Union County Prosecutor Grace H. Park said in a press statement Monday.

Park said both incidents took place on Nov. 30, 2014. An investigation by the Prosecutor’s Office’s Special Prosecutions Unit revealed that Graves conducted two motor vehicle stops including one in Hillside and another in Newark, authorities said. The firefighter followed the motorists and turned on the emergency lights in his fire department vehicle, according to the acting prosecutor, but he was not "working in any official capacity" when he pulled the vehicles over.

The prosecutor said Graves questioned both drivers after he stopped them, but "did not issue any summonses, nor did he attempt to make any arrests."

Since Graves is a firefighter in Essex County, the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office made the decision to transfer the case to Union County to avoid any type of perceived conflict of interest, Park said. Hillside, where one of the motor vehicle stops took place, is located in Union County.

If convicted on the charges, Graves could face punishment ranging from probation to 18 months in a New Jersey state prison, authorities said.

Toniann Antonelli is a social content producer for NJ 101.5. She can be reached at toniann.antonelli@townsquaremedia.com, or on Twitter @ToniRadio1015.